The magazine said the information was conveyed to employees by the worker’s council, but the company refused to comment on its sales or expansion plans.

Given the company’s good economic situation in Germany the 14,500 workers in the country want a piece of the profit, the magazine said.

Revenues are reportedly up 6.3 percent to €3.9 billion, with a store in Hamburg posting the most sales.

The company expects €4.1 billion is sales this year. The new stores will be built in Ingolstadt, Kaiserslautern, Bremerhaven, Lübeck, Wuppertal, Darmstadt and other locations.

According to IKEA’s website, the company posted a 5 percent increase in sales in Germany in 2011 over 2010. Overall the conglomerate grew by 6.9 percent in 2011 over the previous year with total with sales of €24.7 billion.

Ernest, these are two entirely different types of consumer stores. Ikea is European / Furniture and Walmart is American / Groceries, Chemist, Clothing, Furniture, etc. When Walmart arrived in Germany around 1995 it didn't do it's homework beforehand. It had the same issue in other countries. Basically it thought Germans had the same shopping mentality as Americans. Not that one is worse than the other, it's more of we, Germans, do not shop in the same manner. Just a different style.

Walmart is great if you shop once every two weeks and have the room to store that much in your home. We don't have the space in our homes. Moreover, historically, we like to shop 3 - 4 times a week for fresh food. Again, not that Walmart has non-fresh foods. Personally, I could not quite understand buying cheese, a bicycle and a shirt in the same building. Maybe that's why I nearly never go to a Real. Real is similar, but different.

Americans enjoy the convenience that Walmart provides. We just didn't take to that convenience as easily. Now about Ikea.... :-)

During my university time I chose to IKEA because of its price while the quality is inferior at best. This was 20 years ago. Today, living around the world, IKEA stands for a quality that you as a customer at least know what to expect, at a very affordable price. Furthermore, the DIY design makes it very easy to customize your home. I think this is one of the many reasons why IKEA is so successful. Good job IKEA!

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